“You can’t really hesitate or wait for someone else to come,” said Natalie Lucas, 18. “You’re the lifeguard; you’re the lifesaver.”

INSPIRED LIFE

An 18-year-old lifeguard helped deliver a baby on a YMCA pool deck

“You can’t really hesitate or wait for someone else to come,” said Natalie Lucas, 18. "You’re the lifeguard; you’re the lifesaver.”

By Sydney Page
August 1, 2022 at 7:57 a.m. EDT



Natalie Lucas, 18, a lifeguard at YMCA of Northern Colorado, who helped birth a baby during her shift on July 24. (YMCA of Northern Colorado)

It was a typical Sunday morning shift for Natalie Lucas, who works as a lifeguard at the YMCA of Northern Colorado. Until, suddenly, a pregnant woman’s water broke on the indoor pool deck. ... “This was something I wasn’t prepared for,” said Lucas, 18, who has been a certified lifeguard for three years.

Tessa Rider and her husband, Matthew Jones, were visiting their local Y — about five minutes from their home in Longmont, Colo. — for a swim on July 24. Tessa was nine months pregnant with her third child, and daily swims offered a much-needed reprieve from the stifling summer heat.



Tessa Rider on June 23, at 8 months pregnant. (Tessa Rider and Matthew Jones)

“For the later part of her pregnancy she was very uncomfortable, and the only relief she had was when she was in the water and floating,” said Jones, 29. ... Rider was a few days past her due date, and she had experienced some mild contractions, “but not anything very clear cut,” she said.

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Lucas with Tessa Rider and Matthew Jones, immediately after the birth of their son, Toby. (Tessa Rider and Matthew Jones)

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By Sydney Page
Sydney Page is a reporter who writes for The Washington Post’s Inspired Life section, a collection of stories about humanity. She has been a contributor to The Post since 2018. Twitter https://twitter.com/sydneypage95